2 Americans held in Afghanistan freed in prisoner exchange, Taliban says

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Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad (C) who was imprisoned in America, speaks to the media as he arrived in Jalalabad on Jan. 21, 2025, after he was released in exchange for American citizens. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - A prisoner swap between the United States and the Taliban freed two Americans being held in Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California, officials announced on Tuesday.

The deal came as Joe Biden, who oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, handed power over to returning President Donald Trump on Monday. 

The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the "normalization" of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan – although most countries in the world still don't recognize their rule.

2 Americans freed in prisoner exchange with Taliban

What we know:

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed the swap, saying two unidentified U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008 on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his conviction. The Bureau of Prisons early Tuesday listed Mohammed as not being in their custody.

The family of Ryan Corbett, an American held by the Taliban, confirmed he had been released in a statement. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government, was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.

Both CNN and The New York Times, relying on anonymous U.S. officials, identified the second American released as William McKenty, though no other details have emerged about his identity or what he was doing in Afghanistan.

What they're saying:

"Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives," the family's statement said. They thanked both Trump and Biden, as well as many government officials, for their efforts in freeing him.

Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar "for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release, and for their visits to Ryan as the United States’ Protecting Power in Afghanistan." Energy-rich Qatar, which hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban over the years, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press.

The backstory:

Mohammed was detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and later taken to the U.S. A federal jury convicted him on charges of securing heroin and opium that he knew were bound for the United States and, in doing so, assisting terrorism activity.

The Justice Department at the time referred to Mohammed as "a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker" who "sought to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets." He was the first person to be convicted on U.S. narco-terrorism laws.

Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to the AP.

Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also went missing in 2022. The Taliban have denied they have Habibi.